Nah
by Soomin
Summary: There is no stopping destiny, but good luck getting the pirate king to bend his will for you. In which the Strawhats are meant to fulfill some kind of larger purpose, but none of them could really bring themselves to care.


It was another day as usual at the Baratie. There was an unusually high flow of customers today, and of course, they were understaffed. Being the acting leader of the kitchen at the moment, Sanji was immediately volunteered to being the acting waiter.

Honestly, he couldn't really understand why they kept making him do this. They all know his temper, and he was pretty sure that they could remember the last time they made him a waiter. Maybe the sick bastards got some kind of pleasure watching their berries burn in front of them. Picking up two plates for a table, he vaguely wondered what would have happened if he just began telling customers the food was on the chef.

Jeez, how many lifetimes was this now? And he could still think of new ways to tease his coworkers?

"Isn't it a great day? I can understand why so many people would want to get married this month!" he heard a customer comment as he passed.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh! I forgot you're not from East Blue. A lot of people like to get married in May because of some kind of superstition."

Sanji almost dropped the food he was carrying. It was already May? Honing his vision onto a nearby calendar, Sanji didn't know whether to scream or laugh or cry at the sudden realization.

"Hey! Old Man!" Sanji yelled as he practically threw the food onto the table. "I'm taking my vacation days right now!" Sanji didn't even know if he even had vacation days. Regardless, it wasn't really going to matter for long. Sanji paused long enough to think about the future, and then continued running. No matter how many times he goes through this whole ordeal, it doesn't become any easier. He was just going to have to hope that he just doesn't cry again like he did the last forty-three or so times.

He ran back to the kitchen and raided the pantry. He knew that there had to be some flour and eggs around here somewhere. Damn, when did he begin to lose track of time so easily?

 _So where are we going to meet next captain?_

 _Shishi, what about the Baratie?_

 _Yo ho ho! Isn't that Sanji's home?_

 _An interesting choice, captain-san._

 _But next time we have to meet at Water-7, okay?_

 _If that's what you want captain._

It wasn't like Sanji forgot it or anything. Something like this was impossible to forget about. However, in between work, enjoying time with his fellow coworkers for once, and then training on his own, time really did fly. He could remember years ago when he was wishing for this day to come. Now it seemed like was coming to quickly.

Mixing the wet ingredients with the dry ones, Sanji could tell that everyone's eyes were on him. It was famously known to the entire crew that out of all styles of cooking he knew, any form of baking was Sanji's worst nightmare. It wasn't that he was bad at it. In fact, many ladies would say that he was a complete master. Except baking took a long time to do, and while Sanji had the patience of a saint when cooking, he always needed to be doing something when cooking. Baking included a lot of waiting, and he would never be caught dead just baking by itself.

"Sanji, you're baking?" one of the guys, Franklin, finally asked. Sanji was so glad that he finally took Brook's advice and tried to get to know a more about his working staff here. It was going to make later a bitch, but he honestly felt like it was going to also be a lot easier as well.

"Yeah, what of it?" he dismissed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"And you're happy about it?" another asked. He was glad that they were finally getting the courage to ask him about stuff. It was better for them to get the answers they wanted than waste time and gawk at him.

"Sure. I have a cake for a child to make after all," Sanji answered cryptically as he poured the batter into the pan and placed three sheets into the oven. Was this really all they have? He was just going to have to hope that the marimo was going to be responsible for once and actually bring a good number of supplies to build the rest of the treat.

On second though, maybe he should prepare a few stakes after all.

 _Okay, if we're going to meet at the Baratie, when are we going to do it?_

 _Hmm. What about May 5_ _th_ _?_

 _Children's Day? Why?_

 _It's my birthday too!_

No one could even process that Luffy even had a birthday. In last fourty-three lifetimes the nine of them spent together, not a single one of them came to realize that Luffy was like the rest of them and had a birthday to celebrate. Of course he did, but at the same time, they've been living so long time that years began to mix, and even Sanji could hardly pay enough attention to figure out how old he was in all of the lifetimes combined. Maybe that's why he lost track of time so much lately. When people were as old as the nine of them, days hardly seemed like anything anymore.

Except they were going to try to keep this date to their heart for at least a few lifetimes more.

"Hold it eggplant," Zeff called out as Sanji tried to search for some kind of meat that would satisfy the black hole that was his captain.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Calling a vacation day? Baking? And now you're trying to dig for food that should be going to our customers? You better have a good reason for this shitty behavior, or do I have to beat you in another fight?" Zeff challenged, and while their relationship was not as strained as it was in another time, Sanji could never truly be the well-behaved son his other father desired him to be.

"You wish you old geezer. But if you really want to know, I have some friends coming over right now, and if you want this restaurant to be in one piece by the time they arrive, you're going to have to let me get a few stakes from the freezer," Sanji explained and walked passed his boss. Just when he was about to open the door, a hand slapped his own away.

"Friends? Since when did you have friends?" Sanji was about to retort something sarcastically back when he heard a scream from the front of the Baratie. If there weren't so many eyes on him right now, Sanji would probably have a few tears coming down his face.

"Luffy! Calm down! This is the Baratie. We're going to have to behave ourselves, especially if your friend is here."

"Chill out Sabo. It isn't like we've dined in fancy restaurants before."

"Why did Makino-san even bother teaching you manners Ace?"

"Oi! Sanji!"

The cook smiled slightly as he pulled out a few stakes from the fridge. So the captain finally managed to bring his brothers along for a small bit of the journey. He could vaguely remember a in one lifetime or another how Luffy nearly got them to join, and that he wasn't going to stop trying until they saw his way.

Preheating the grill, Sanji made sure nothing was going to burn before popping his head out the kitchen to greet the man he has been waiting for nearly eighteen years.

"Luffy!" he called out.

This was the first time that he was the first one to meet Luffy. Normally it would be Zoro or Nami that would greet him or the occasional Usopp depending on where the Baratie was located at the time, but Sanji supposed that because he had his brothers, the three of them went on a totally different path. Sanji vaguely wondered how Destiny was going to take to that.

"Sanji!" Rubber arms stretched out, and while the two brothers tried to stop Luffy from rocketing over to him, they failed.

Sanji missed his captain's hugs, not that he would ever admit that aloud.

"Luffy! Oh, sir, I am so sorry- wait, I think I recognize you," the blonde one comment. Sanji racked his brain for a name. Unfortunately, Sanji never really had a chance to meet the brothers for a long period of time. They were always doing something or another and could hardly stand still. He was Sabo, wasn't he?

"Wait, aren't you a Vin-" Sabo began, but Luffy quickly covered his mouth.

"That's a secret!" Luffy smiled, and Sabo, for the years that he must have spent with Luffy, must have realize what that meant and stopped himself. As an apology, Sabo help Sanji up on his feet and try to pry his captain off of him. Sanji really didn't care about that name, but he appreciated that his captain still retained that memory after so many years.

"Sorry about that. Trust me, your secret is going to be kept a lost closer than with that loudmouth. My name's Sabo."

"Sanji."

"Oh, you're the cook! Pleasure to meet you," Ace said, bowing deeply. Sanji had always suspected that Ace was in the same predicament as the nine of them were, but he was never quite sure about it until now. It was that small glint in his eyes that told Sanji that the appreciation went further than simple pleasantries. It must have been a D thing.

"Hey Sanji! Where's everyone else? Are you making something? I can smell something really good in the kitchen. Oh! Sanji, do you think it's okay if Sabo and Ace come along until we hit Loguetown? Sabo said we could use their ship, but I think Franky is going to bring Sunny along, so-"

Sanji missed this more than he should have.

Nodding at all of his captain's questions, he told Luffy to go sit at one of the tables to wait for the others. Now that Luffy was here, it wouldn't be long before the others arrive too. Luffy was like a beacon for people to come. He was going to have to hurry.

 _What do you say we do next time captain?_

 _Well, we could always try and do what fate has in store for us._

 _Hmm… nah! I don't wanna!_

 _Can't argue with that logic!_

 _They all laughed as the surrounded their captain around his bed. This was probably their twentieth or was it twenty-fifth time they had to watch their captain in bed? It didn't rip their hearts any easier than the first time._

 _For whatever reason, Luffy was always the first to go. While they all knew that they would all see each other again in the next lifetime, it didn't help fill the gap that their captain left when he left them too early again._

 _Sanji didn't know it, but he would be the last one to go in that lifetime, and he was almost glad Luffy left before any of them. He wouldn't want his captain to face this loneliness for any amount of time._

How many lifetimes has it been since they learned about what they were meant to be doing in this life? Sanji chuckled as he brought out the cake from the oven. He could still remember walking onto Raftel and the deity telling them of their true destiny in life. He remembered looking at each of the crewmembers: their faces were identical. It was then that the deity asked Luffy he was going to accept the quest.

He then looked at Luffy like everyone else did, and then laughed at the incredulous face the deity made when Luffy refused the request. He was pretty sure that Luffy wasn't even listening after he made his choice, but the deity continued to explain their curse if they didn't do what they were supposed to. They went on and on and on about until Robin-chan stepped and explain just the type of person their "chosen" hero was.

And then that was that. Sure, one of these days, the might just end up completing what they were supposed to do, but there were a lot of adventures to be had together before that even becomes an option. Ever since that choice, the Strawhats were "doomed" to continuously live their lives over and over again until the cycle was broken. For whatever reason, their memories were retained, which made finding each other much easier. Although it did sucked having the memories of a forty year old when you were eight years old, it wasn't a choice he ever cursed Luffy for making.

"Oi! Everyone!"

"Luffy!"

Sanji smiled as he finished frosting the cake. That was right. For he, Black Leg Sanji, was a Strawhat until he died, and even still when the deities realize that they picked the wrong hero.

Honestly, what was Destiny even thinking picking his captain to be a hero? There wasn't a single thing anyone could make Luffy do if he didn't want to.

"Sanji!"

"Happy birthday you shitty captain. How many does this make?"

Luffy could only laugh at the question.

The nine of them might have been chosen for a larger purpose. They might have been given an infinite amount of retries at this larger purpose. They might even find that this larger purpose might be more rewarding than they initially think. However, there was one thing that they did know.

No one can tell the Pirate King or his crew what to do.

* * *

 **A/N:** This was a weird little idea that came to me before I went to bed today. It's pretty much a play on the time-travel fics that everyone loves and is my secret weakness. What I noticed is that a lot of time-travel fics are really serious and meant to fulfill some kind of deeper purpose, but really, that doesn't really flow in Luffy's book, does it? He would much rather just kick and do his own thing and face the consequences later. It's a lot more light-hearted, and I hope people like it!

Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
